...of surface reading

Upon the completion of reading Proverbs 31:1031 again, I got something different this time. Usually, these passages are referred to when a wife desires to “do the right thing.” I’ve read through it, building a portfolio to model myself after. Comparing ourselves, (The Wife of Noble Character & I), at different times made it blatant that I was not a good imitator. I worked harder by setting certain goals in place, which resulted in my putting up a façade quite often. It also caused me to overwhelm myself with tasks that were not a part of my genre, however, naively, I attempted to make it fit. I was wearing myself out!

With this reading, I didn’t read on the surface. I really took the time to ask questions and “read between the lines.” For example, verse 11 says, "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value." What does it mean for a husband to have full confidence in his wife and how is it obtained? Can you believe that, because of the last line about lacking nothing of value, I used to think this meant that her husband trusted her with their finances! Yes, I had a good argument for this; if hubby leaves the bills up to wifey and she pays them in a timely manner, manages it well enough to bury some in the yard, and does not irresponsibly consume the money, then he trusts her and lives a plush life as a result.

New interpretation, her character, which is fashioned after the character of her King, Jesus Christ, constitute her husband’s confidence in trusting that she is always living her life in the manner that is satisfying to God. This brings about no slander to God’s, hubby’s or wifey’s reputation. Her actions always glorify her Master and mister. Thereby, lacking nothing of value.

Lastly, verse 18 tells us, "She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night." Well, Ms. Larie over here decided that she would find ways to contribute to their income by doing some “trading” of her own. What a burden I placed on myself with planning and carrying out home-business ideas. Staying up late at night, (lamp not going out), improving ideas and writing proposals left me stranded and exhausted. I tried cake decorating, home daycare and two different independent consultant positions! None of these adventures were successful due to the ill-intent motives pushing them. In fact, each one caused some sort of chaos for us financially. One specific thing was our checking account being closed due to “countless” overdraft transactions. Yeah, how does a bank account go into the negative with so much income coming in? Ha! That will be in another book! :)

Thankful that the Bible is the book that can be read multiple times without tiring of it and because fresh perspectives are abundant, I now understand verse 18 to be referring to the spiritual profit of trading her life, for His life. Therefore, her light continues to shine in the darkness of trials. In spite of what efforts are made at snuffing our lights out, it is up to us, ourselves, to keep it BRIGHTLY shining! (Matthew 5:14-16)

*Taken in part from the book, "perfeck... not Perfect"

*All scripture is taken from the New International Version